{"product_id":"absence-9780374527631","title":"Absence","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \"challenging and rewarding novel\"* from Nobel Prize-winning author Peter Handke.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe time is an unspecified modernity, the place possibly Europe. \u003ci\u003eAbsence \u003c\/i\u003efollows four nameless people -- the old man, the woman, the soldier, and the gambler -- as they journey to a desolate wasteland beyond the limits of an unnamed city. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"In this smoothly written fable, Handke forcefully summons readers to the recognition that the essence of human life lies in the striving for self-expression even though its perfect realization must always remain elusive.\"--*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A remarkably abstract book even for the very abstract Handke... Slippery but engrossing work, silkily translated.\" - \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Handke\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Griffen, Austria, in 1942. A novelist, playwright, and translator, he is the author of such acclaimed works as \u003ci\u003eThe Moravian Night\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Sorrow Beyond Dreams\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eRepetition\u003c\/i\u003e. The recipient of multiple literary awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and the International Ibsen Award, Handke is also a filmmaker. He wrote and directed adaptations of his novels \u003ci\u003eThe Left-Handed Woman\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAbsence\u003c\/i\u003e, and co-wrote the screenplays for Wim Wenders' \u003ci\u003eWrong Movie \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWings of Desire.\u003c\/i\u003e He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2019.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50514079154450,"sku":"9780374527631","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_993b5df8-f086-4d25-baee-6ebd43de245b.jpg?v=1730972665","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/absence-9780374527631","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}